North Wales sailor Ed Wright had to settle for bronze at the 2009 Finn European Championship after the final medal race was cancelled due to poor weather conditions in Varna, Bulgaria.

Wright, from Colwyn Bay, had been just one point adrift from the silver medal position, held by Finland’s Tapio Nirkko, after the penultimate day of racing, but the light and shifty wind conditions made it impossible for the final showdown to get underway, and the Skandia Team GBR sailor kept hold of the overall third spot.

Slovenia’s Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic was crowned European Champion, having amassed an unassailable points lead even before Saturday’s abandoned medal race.

Wright sailed a consistent event, fighting back from a false start disqualification early on in the regatta to count all top ten scores from eight of the other nine races in the series.

“It was pretty disappointing that I didn’t get the chance to fight for silver, but I’m happy with my third,” explained Wright, who won the European title in 2006.

“I think the race officer made a good decision to call it off, especially in light of the trick and random conditions we had yesterday.

“We’ve had a pretty random week actually – the first day was hiking breeze and was an awesome day, but since then it’s been mostly light airs and tricky conditions.”

Image credit: Richard Langdon Scandia Team GBR

For further media information:
Hamish Stuart,
RYA Wales regional communicator
Tel: 07914 873451
Email: Hamish@score-media.co.uk
www.rya.org.uk